A neighborhood known for its struggle with violence, drugs, poverty and blight came together to honor a Modesto man who was shot to death while walking his dog early Tuesday.
It's the eighth homicide in Modesto this year. Police say at least three of them were gang-related.
In this most recent attack, which occurred in the airport neighborhood, a 51-year-old man was shot dead, police said, and a 29-year-old man was shot in the leg but is expected to survive. Police have not released their names, but family and friends said Clarence "Buddy" Mason was the man killed.
The victims were not gang members, said Modesto police Sgt. Scott Heller, adding that their shooter likely is a "criminal street gang member" based on the investigation thus far.
There is no indication, Heller said, that this shooting had anything to do with two drive-bys in west Modesto on Friday that left a 22-month-old boy in the hospital, a 14-year-old dead and a 15-year-old injured.
Police have questioned several people in connection with the airport neighborhood shooting. They detained one man at least through Tuesday evening after stopping him in Oregon Park about noon.
The shooting happened about 2:30 a.m. as Mason and a friend were walking Mason's dog, Grace, around the corner from his Kerr Avenue home, according to family members. Police say a man who might have been on a bicycle came upon them and shot them. The dog was not injured.
Friends of the victims said Mason and his friend were walking the dog when a third man rode past them on his bike. Mason's friend called out to the bicyclist, who stopped and began to head back toward them. As he turned, he fell off his bike. Mason and his friend laughed at him.
The bicyclist then got up, pulled a gun from his pocket and emptied the clip at them, according to various people in the neighborhood.
"That's what the word is," said Martin Harris, who said he knew Mason for 27 years.
Police would not confirm those details Tuesday. But Heller said the fight appeared to be related to "intimidation or an argument over a respect issue."
Mason was known to friends as "Buddy." He had lived in his airport neighborhood home for about 30 years.
"He was a generous person," Harris said. "He'd give you his last $5 to feed your kids and he'd go hungry. He never did a bad thing to anybody."
Harris said his friend often walked his dogs late at night. With about five dogs and no fenced-in yard, Mason took them out when they needed to go, Harris said.
Mason was a "scrapper," or scrap metal collector, friends said. His home is decorated with some of his prized finds, said his son Jimmie Perdue, 36: Metal wheelbarrows line the front of the property, and an old-fashioned white gas pump stands sentry by the driveway.
Mason's "pride and joy," Harris said, was a yellow Chevrolet tow truck that was parked outside the home Tuesday. Neighbors and friends covered every surface of the truck with maroon and pink roses, placing them on the hood, tucking them into the door handles and twining them around the bumpers.
Man detained in park
Investigators questioned people in the airport neighborhood Tuesday about the shooting. Officers were waiting for approval of a search warrant in the 700 block of Kerr when they learned that a man possibly linked to the shooting was in the area.
Around noon, police sped toward Oregon Park to find him. About 60 people were at the park, waiting in line for the arrival of a United Samaritans Foundation lunch truck when police cars pulled up to a nearby house. Officers got out of their cars and the chatter stopped as onlookers watched police decide their next move.
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